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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

8 A. T. Lllvnlemvxuv.

LUMBER TRIMMING AND ASSORTING MACHINE.

No. 378,796. y Patented Feb. 28, 1888.

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Ill-1| lIlIll 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. A. T. LINDBRMAN.

LUMBER TRIMMING AND ASSORTVING MACHINE.

(No Model.)

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MM y 6 l O. MIM/L N M vUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. ALBERT T.. LINDERMAN, OF "WHITEHALL', MICHIGAN, ASSIG'N OR T() ELLA A.

LTNDERMAN, OF SAME PLACE.

LUMBER TRIIVIMING AND-ASSORTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.378,7.96,`daitedFebruary 28, 1888.

y Application filed March 6, 1886. Serial No. 194,828. (No model.) l

To allwhom t may concern.:

Be it known that I, ALBERT T. LINDERMAN, a citizen of the UnitedStates,- residing at Vhitehall, in the count-yaoi Muskegon and State oi'Michigan, have invented a new and useful Lumber Trimming and AssortingMachine,

My invention relates to improvements in machines for trimming od' theends or defects from lumber; and the objects of my invention are toprovide a machine which will operate so as to do this and at the sametime assort the trimmed lumber according to its length and width.

- ings, in whichr machine which iirst receives the lumber-to be cf awidth-assorting trough as it would appear Figure l is a plan view ofthat part of the trimmed, broken sections of the conveyertable, withlength-assorting orifices of dierent and graduated size, being shown.Fig. 2is a broken side view of thev machine, showing the position of thewidth-assorting troughs under the length-.asserting conveyer and themanner of driving the endless-chain conveyers of both. Fig. 3 is abroken perspective 'view detached from the machine, the better to showits parts. same, showing several graduated Widthassorting openings. Fig.5 is a sectional View, drawn at the plane X X, Fig. 7, of a gage-key.Fig. 6 is a perspective View of a gage-key, a series of which are usedin the machine to engage the different lengths of lumber trimmed, and,by sliding the lumber endwise as it passes under them before it reachesthe saw, regulate the length to which the lumber is out oil. Fig.. 7 isa sectional view of a gage-key, drawn at the plane Y Y, Fig. 5.

Similar letters indicate like parts through out the several views.

The legs A A, table au, Ste., and girders B B, constitute the frame-workof the machine. The shaft @,being turned by the application of asuitable power, revolves by means of the bevel gear-wheels the shaftonwhich are keyed the driving sprocket-wheels D. These sprocketwheels drawthe endless chains E E, and, being united by theslats ce, constituteadouble-strand of which the followng'is a specification..

I attain th ese objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanyingdraw-v Fig. 4 is a broken plan view ofthe conveyer that moves thelumber. The sprocket-wheels L L are also turned by the shaft O. Thesesprocket-wheels move the endless-oonveyer-chain'm,4 which conveys thelumber lengthwise when it falls into the width-assorting troughs. Thepulley-,wheel t, turned by suitable belt or power, turns the spindle towhich the saw Sis hung. The roller dis supported by gudgeons in eachend, which turnin bearings on the legs A A. Similar rollers, e e', serveto keep the conveyer chain fromA contact with the lengthsorting troughs.The conveyer chain m, provided with lugs for moving the boards, travelsin the groove m in the bottom of the trough n, and is driven by the,sprocket-wheel L, and is served by a" oth'er. This supporting-rodshould be high' enough above the table to allow the lumber to pass`freely under the gage-keys which it supports. Thevother en d of thegagekeys rests uponthe table a. The end of the gage-key/ which restsupon the table should be the thickness of the key nearer to a li-nedrawn parallel with the saw-the line running from the saw to therollerdthan the end of the key that is supported `by the iron rod, the thickerat the keys at this angle,-'the oiiioe which these keys perform being tobear against the end of the lumber `passing underneath or within theradius of any one of them, and as it passes along their length to slideit eudwise toward the.

saw until the end of the gage-key is reached.- The lumber'then maintainsits position on the .conveyer-bar until it is sawed off and is cut someregulated length. Thus if the gagekeys be two inches thick the lumberwill varyin length two inches or-some multiple of two inches. If thegage-keys are a foot thick, then the 1um berwill vary in length a footor multiple of a foot.

A piece of lumber, F, Fig. l, is shown ashaving a defect to be trimmedoi as it is cargage-key g being enoughl lower end to maintain all theIOO when it falls into the trough,

2 e'faves ried under the gage-keys by the eonveyer toward the saw, itschanged position,l caused by the gage-key as it passes under the key,being shown by the dotted outlines of the board. The openings r r r inthe table a are made to allow the different lengt-hs of lumber to dropthrough; The rst opening, or the one nearest the saw, is made slightlywider 'than the distance of the nearest gage-key to the saw is from aline drawn from the saw-teeth and parallel with the convcyer-chain, thislatter distance reprcsei'itingthe shortest length oflumbcr eut. Thefirst opening r will allow it to drop through. The next opening shouldbe the width of the gage-keys longer than the lfirst,which will allowthe second length to fall through, and so ou until as many openings,graduated in increased length, are made in the conveyer-table as thereare keys. The girders B B are fastened to and allowed to project fromthe inside of the legs A A, thus forming a slide to carry theconveyor-chain inits return.

'lhe gagekeys G G, &c., are preferably cut out upon the under edge, asshown inFig. 6, asy I ind that this form more surely engages the ends ofthe lumber, as shown in Fig. 5. The edges of thc table a are recessedfor the conveyor-chain to travel in, so that the under side of thecross-bars rest upon the table-top. The width-assorting troughs n n areattached to the under sidc of the table a at each of the openings in thetable a through which the lumber falls. These troughs are provided withgrooves m', in which theeonveyer-chain m travels. This chain shouldbefurnished with lugs to move the lumber along the trough The trough nis provided with apertures p on one or bot-h sides for the lumber tofall through. `As the design'of these openings is to assort the lumberwhich passes them in width, the narrowest openingp should be next towhere-.the lumber falls into the trough n from the conveyer, graduatingthe increase ofthe width of the other openings according as it isdesired to assort the lumber in width.

'lo operate the machine, the stock F is laid 'upon the table a. near theroller d, with the point near which it is desired to trim it off aboutin line with the saw S. The conveyerbars carry it along under thegage-keys, which regulate its length. It is then cut or trimmed bythesaw, and, passing along the conveyer,

reaches an opening inthe table lsuiliciently large to allow it to'dropthrough4 into the width-assortingtrough. It isl thenv carried along thistrough by the conveyerfchain, which runs inthe bottom ofthe trough,until it'reaches an opening in the side of the trough wide enough toallowr it to fall through, when it is at its proper, place upon theyard, lassorted accordi'ng to its length and width.`

Heretofore lu umher-trimmings have not been .utilized to anygreat extenton account of the cxpenseo cuttingout thedgood lumber that was in themand asserting it after it was cut, one to two cords being a good dayswork for a man, besides a boy to assort them. By the use of my improvedmachine a man will cut and Vsort forty to fifty cords in a day, besidesthe stock will be better assorted, as each length and each differentwidthof each length will be by itself. v

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,isy

1. In a machine for trimming lumber, the series of gage-keys G G, Snc.,severally, one end of f each of which is pivotally hung above thepassing lumber,` the other end falling obliquely toward thesaw, wherebythe end of the passing lumber contacts with one of the keysand isadjusted to a definite position as it passes onto the saw, substantiallyas shown and described.

2. A lumber trimming and assortiug niachine having a conveyor mechanismfor moving the lumber along a supporting-table, a saw for trimming thelumber during its transit, and graduated openings, the smallest openingbeing nearest the saw, in the supporting-table of the conveyer, throughsome of which open'- ings the trimmed lumber falls, whereby it isassorted according to its length, substantially as shown and described.

3. In lumberaassorting machines, aconveyer having an inclined bottom tohold by gravity the lower edge of the passing lumber against the lowerside board of the conveyor, an endless convcying mechanism traveling ina recess in the bottom of the conveyor for moving the lumber along theconveyor, and graduated openings in the 4inclined bottom of theconveyer, the smallest opening being next the point of entry of thelumber to the conveyor, for allowing the lumber to drop through or outof the'conveyer when the lumber reaches an opening sufficiently wide,wherebythe passing lumber is assorted and dropped at different pointsalong the conveyer, according to its Width, substantially as shown anddescribed.

4. A lumber trimming and asserting machine having the followingelements: an endless-chain conveyor for carrying 'the lumber sidewisealong the conveyor-table, gagekeys for regulating the position ofthelumber on the conveyor-table, a saw for cutting off the lumber intransit, graduated openings in the ,conveyer-table' through which thelumberV drops according to its length, thereby being assorted as tolength, a conVeyer-trough underneath these openings into which thelumber falls, and graduated openings in the inclined bottom of thistrough through which the lumber in passing falls, thereby asserting thelumber as to width, substantially as shown and described.

ALBERT l. LXN'DERMAN.

Witnesses:

., M. A. GRANT,

Bnmx J. GRIFFEN.

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